Left
by ErinM
Summary: DG hasn't learned what topics Cain doesn't have an opinion on. *post-series


**Title:** Left  
**Author:** Erin  
**Characters:** DG and Cain  
**Rating:** G  
**Summary:** DG hasn't learned what topics Cain _doesn't_ have an opinion on.  
**Warning:** post-series  
**Disclaimer:** The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors.

Wyatt Cain was sitting at the far end of the long table in the dining room, reading the daily news. His plate was clean, save for a few crumbs from the sandwich he'd had earlier for lunch. He enjoyed these quiet times – which was odd to most, as he had spent so much time in the quiet solitude of the suit – and took them when he could get them.

His left arm leaning against the next chair, Cain leaned back in his seat and swallowed - feeling like a small piece of bread was still in his throat – as he turned the page to read the continuation of the story he'd been scanning. 'Three... Two...'

"Cain! I need your-" DG asked as she rushed into the room, a small box in either hand.

"Left," he said simply, not even looking up to see what she was holding. His glance shifted to the next page as DG looked down at the boxes, brow furrowed, and then back up to Cain. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped, realizing that he hadn't even looked at her.

"I have to show up to – probably – the most important royally-political _whatever_ in the history of the O.Z. and you're just gonna say 'Left'?" Cain looked down to the lower right portion of the page before turning to the next.

"Yup." DG frowned and looked at the buffet along the left wall.

"I could be standing here with a dead chicken on a string and Soap-on-a-Rope!" Cain looked to the right page.

"Could be." DG huffed and moved around the table, stopping at the chair next to the one he was leaning on. She tossed both boxes to the table a bit more forcefully than she should, as the contents of each were not strictly hers.

"Why do you have to be such a pain in the-" Cain closed the paper and laid it over his plate. Sitting up, he turned slightly to face DG.

"Kid, why do you have to constantly ask for _my_ opinion on _your_ jewelry?"

"Why do you always say 'Left'?" DG glared back and picked at the tablecloth. Cain sighed heavily and rested his elbow on the table.

"Three weeks after-" he nodded. "You came to me with two necklaces," he continued, holding up two fingers. "You asked me which one I liked. I said 'Left.'" DG nodded, waiting for him to get to the point. Cain nodded again. "'Really?' you asked me. I said, 'Yes.' You wore the one on the right." DG made a face, even though she knew he wasn't wrong.

Cain turned back to face the table properly and picked up the paper. "The next time, I played it your way. I said, 'Right,' and you said, 'But I like the one on the left.'" He flipped the corners of the paper to find the page he'd been reading and stuck his finger between the pages.

"Having a fifty-fifty chance the next time, I went, yet again, with, 'Right.'" He looked at DG, who made eye-contact for the slightest second before looking back to the table guiltily. She had gone with the left choice that night. Cain flipped the paper open sharply and went back to the area he'd been reading when she came in to interrupt.

"After two more times of incorrectly reading your mind, I decided that, to make things easy, I would always answer, 'Left.'" He skipped over the advertisements and flipped the page to get to the next story. DG glared at the two boxes sitting in front of her and huffed. A moment later, she huffed again, with a little more sigh.

Cain looked up from the paper and rolled his eyes. Closing the paper again, Cain set it down and turned his entire body in the chair. "Why don't you ask your sister or your mother? They're much better with this-" he said, waving to the boxes.

DG leaned back in her seat and groaned. "Because, Cain: they're girls." Cain blinked. "They see jewelry and think: 'Ooh! Sparkly!'" she said in a very peppy tone and with a funny face. Cain just stared at her. He'd heard that tone come from Az once or twice. What did DG call it? Valley-something? Cain noticed DG's expression fall slightly and shifted.

"I see jewelry and-" She sighed again and raised a finger then twirled it in a circle. "Ooh. Sparkly," she dead-panned. Cain couldn't help but smile and DG leaned against the table, resting her cheek in her hand. "They tell me why I should wear a green necklace with a green dress. And why I shouldn't wear a pink necklace with a green dress. And 'with that fabric you should wear a chain' or 'that's too big, Deej. It makes your head look small.'" She sighed again and Cain tried not to laugh.

"I don't want to walk in there and look like a huge and honkin' dork because I never took the time to learn how to accessorize," she stated, matter-of-factly. Cain took a deep breath and held out his hand. DG cheered up considerably and pushed the first box to him. He popped the box open and glanced at the necklace inside. Taking the second box from DG – which she had already opened – he considered her other choice. He nodded between the two strands of fancy and leaned back with a sigh.

"It's up to you," he said with a shrug and pushed his chair away from the table. DG rolled her eyes and thought some very un-Princessy words toward her friend as she pulled both boxes back in front of her. Cain pushed the chair back into place and leaned against the back. "It doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what your sister thinks. If _you_ like it... that's it."

"And if I care what you think?" DG asked shortly, looking at the centerpiece with a frown. Cain breathed deeply and followed her gaze to the centerpiece. He looked down to his plate for a moment, and then turned his head to DG.

"Do you ever ask Glitch? Or Raw?" DG didn't look at him. She never considered asking them, honestly. Cain straightened again and tapped the back of the chair. "Listen, Kid: they're both... nice." DG frowned. "But, I really don't like either of 'em." He pushed away from the table, picked up the paper and folded it over.

"I have to pick one," DG said with a gasp. "Goin' in there with a naked neck is worse than showing up in my underwear, according to Az." Cain snorted lightly and reached into his vest pocket. As he stepped past her, he leaned over her left shoulder as his arm crossed over her right.

"'Left' and 'Right' are not your only choices, Kid." He pulled away and left DG sitting at the table, staring at the new box sitting between the two she'd brought in. Watching him leave the room out of the corner of her eye, DG waited until he was gone before sitting up and reaching for the box - a simple white box, tied with a yellow ribbon so light, it was almost white as well. She untied the bow and pulled the top off.

She never asked Cain for his opinion again.

At least, not regarding jewelry.


End file.
